Serendipity
by heavenlyhuntress
Summary: •ღBefore Sasuke leaves, Sakura is presented with a choice that may change everything. To turn back time. To that point when the snake attacked him...she may twist time so it was not he had the curse mark, but she. SasuSaku.ღ•
1. Chapter One

**This story has been in my mind for quite a while. At least several weeks.**

**Rated: T**

**Pairing: SasuSaku as of now.**

**Summary: Before Sasuke leaves, Sakura is presented with a choice that may change everything. To turn back time. To that point when the snake attacked him...she may twist time so it was not he had the curse mark, but she. SasuSaku.**

_**x.**Serendipity.**x**_

* * *

(The day before Sasuke left)

Sakura shot ten kunais at her sparring partner. Easily he dodged them, his dark hair glinting in the waning sun.

"Let's stop for now!" panted Naruto in his usual stentorian voice. He stood up, exhausted, a smile bright on his lively features.

"Fine," assented Sakura. She glanced fleetingly at Sasuke - There was only a speck in the far distance. Just like the sun on he horizon, Sakura's heart sank. She wanted to clench her fists ad grit her teeth, but patience overruled her. Ignoring Naruto's offer of eating dinner together she shot off into the darkness. Despite her fatigue earlier she ran her fastest and her hardest.

To the only person she'd ever wanted. From several years before, she'd fallen for Sasuke.

And she'd fallen hard.

Her pouch struck against her hip and snow and wind tore at her cheeks.

Just a little more...

The dark figure reformed into a tall, unsmiling dark-eyed shinobi. He stared coldly at Sakura, who had stopped barely in front of him, chest heaving. Her eyes glimmered faintly in the dark, black night.

"Ano - Sasuke...I thought...we could have dinner t-tonight?" Hopefully she awaited his response, her eager eyes drawn to the shape of his mouth, the edge of his nose, the contemptuous curve of the jaw.

He hardly moved an inch. "No."

Sakura's breath stopped. Why did it hurt so much, so piercingly, every time? A thought surfaced. _'Why even bother?'_

Dully she bit her lip. He was so close yet so far...it wasn't worth it, but it was...! This was Sasuke; he'd always been loved, even to his displeasure. Like a bee drawn to honey Sakura wanted him wanted him close, to love her back.

"I said no."

Her head snapped back up. Wordlessly she shifted to the right and let him pass.

A voice close behind her - "Oi, Sakura-chan, do you want to - "

"No, Naruto. Leave me alone." Feeling a surge of sadness, she walked away, blinking back tears.

**X**xxxxx

Something, a faint thought, came to her in a dream. She spotted a dark flower hanging like a teardrop in the sky. She made her way with a dreamer's pace, slow and comforting, to get a better look. She was curious.

It was, in fact, a black cherry blossom.

Puzzled, Sakra reached out to touch it;

**X**xxxxx

She was jolted, electrified. She screamed and screamed, and screamed but couldn't feel anything. Time stopped and swirled around her. The world tilted in a ninety degree angle and shards of pain were inflicted into her mind.

_M-make is stop-p-_

Finally. she gave up, hanging suspended into the air numbly. Her body twitched violently of its own accord. She couldn't feel a thing.

"Open your eyes."

Sakura didn't move.

"Open your eyes!" She tried but she couldn't.

"Agh-ugh - " Cold water was splashed across her face. She jumped up immediately. "W-where am I?!" She winced and cried aloud at the injuries. When she peered down it appeared she was adorned in simple black fabric.

There were no wounds, no incisions, no cuts.

_Then how...?_

She found herself in a dark, shabby room with peeling walls and spider webs. There was no window or door...the light came from a lanterm that a woman was holding. Layers of old skin hung from her eyes. She had no teeth, and a few wisps of hair sprouted from a weathered scalp.

But her eyes were as bright as those of a newborn's.

Her voice was cracked with age but overflowing, strangely, with vitailty. "I need to tell you."

"Wh-what?" Sakura found it difficult to speak. Fear knotted in her chest. "W-where am I? W - "

"Sasuke..."

At the sound of his name Sakura fell silent, heart drumming like a trapped bird in a cage.

"...That is his name, no...?"

"H-hai." Sakura was immensely curious. Only when she fet a burning pain did she realize she'd clenched her fists so tightly that blood had seeped out.

"He is leaving today."

"Ngh - Sa - "

"Hush," the woman intoned, her eyes burning brightly. Sakura drew back, frightened. "He is leaving today," she repeated. "The cursemark - "

"_NO_!" burst out the kunoichi and she stood up. A spear of pure pain caused her to crumple to the ground, and she shuddered. "The curse mark - how do y-you know?" Her teeth clenched down on her lip. She needed to know, desired the truth.

"We have no time. He is leaving today in the early morning."

"I - " Sakura forced herself calm, forced her jaw to unclench. She shivered. "P-please, then..how do y-you know?"

"We have no time," the woman repeated. Her eyes closed for a fraction of a second. "Do you wish to stop him?"

"But - I - of _course _I want to stop him!"

"You cannot."

"W-what?" Sakura's head swam and she felt giddy. What was reality and where did it end? How was this possible? Was she dead?

"You will try but he will knock you unconscious."

"...I - Sasuke - "

"You cannot stop him."

"...Ss..." Her lips parted. Her shoulders racked with coughs. Several seconds passed with that horrible sound. Finally she lifted her head tiredly, eyes swimming with tears. "T-tell me how I...w-why are you - "

"Do you want to help him?"

Fury sprouted; Sakura yelled, "Of course I do!" The tears were now let loose in a perpetual motion around her. She was confused but spoke with her best interests. "I - I...love...him."

"Are you sure?"

She didn't know why she was crying, didn't know why she felt so afraid, so deathly horrified. "I - I'll help him. I'll stop him - I'l do anything! I'll do anything!"

"Anything...?" Sardonically the crone's toothless mouth twisted into a smile. "Anything?"

"Y-_yes!"_

"Can you turn back time? You cannot stop him. You can only attempt to try." There was something disparaging in that withered old tone.

"I - of course!" _This isn't real_, she desperately thought. _If this is a dream it's terribly twisted. I'll just..._ She blurted out, "W-why are you doing this Why are you telling me this?" To her horror the room was twisting, fading into a windswept circle.

The old woman had already disappeared. Her voice echoed in the darkness, "Then so be it..."

And then...nothing.

* * *

**Please please review. I have the second chapter clearly thought out. If you're curious...tell me!**


	2. Curse Mark

**Aww!! I love all my reviewers to smithereens! And the Story-Alerters, the Favoriters, lurkers, and even anyone who just clicked on the story because it looked interesting.**

**(But mostly the reviewers).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I can pwn him...**

**

* * *

**

_**x.**Serendipity.**x**_

**_The Curse Mark_**

* * *

A twist of sound, a high, keening voice – Sakura was rushing headlong up, up, up, to the right – in circles – she didn't know.

The tunnel was dark and petrifying. She did not know where she was going, only knew this had to be a dream, _must_ be a dream.

And then – light. Agonizing light. She blinked, seeing figures around her – she was in no other than the Forest of Death – a burst of blond hair.

_It's Naruto! And…Sasuke…but what are they doing here? And what am I doing here? Hadn't we already completed the Chuunin exams? Is this a mission? _

A rustling sound –

She saw the snake appear out of nowhere, driven towards Sasuke.

A burst of intuition and adrenaline flowed through her veins – _No! Is this a flashback? This has happened before – I – Sasuke – _

Because of her memory and the semblance of his pain; Sasuke's pain – she could not let this happen again. She _could not_.

Rushing forward with a speed she didn't know she possessed, she pushed Sasuke out of the way, falling in the air –

And then the snake, whizzing forward – the ugly, mottled face; she saw the snake, saw it drive its head into – and then a simultaneous burst of aching hurt. She was thrown back, choking on blood – her blood. Her neck burned and she felt lightheaded, crashing along the forest branches.

_Let it end_, she prayed unconsciously. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her front felt heavy with gleaming dark blood. Her eyes closed as the fangs that had punctured so deep into her skin disentangled and moved away.

She felt so…useless. Te trees whistled past and the ground was rapidly rising to meet her, but she could not move, immobile – she could only hope to die.

_The pain – _

And then, impossibly, she was rising, elevated. Slowly the pain leeched away but she didn't dare move. "You're okay, Sakura," she heard a low whisper, just as a spasm hit her neck.

_It's coming back – Why am I bleeding so much – _

A fresh spurt of blood was coughed up.

_Am I going – to die?_

**X**xxxxx

Sakura clenched her fists angrily at her defenselessness. Weak. Worthless.

She hadn't done a thing to stop the snake. It had gotten what it had wanted, hadn't it?

In the mirror she gradually noticed a sudden difference, diminutive but distinct.

A black mark.

Frowning, Sakura squinted in the hazy image – it cleared rather suddenly – she recognized that mark – Cold realization flooded her senses. The mark was that of Sasuke's – the snake had bitten him. _But no – _

In a flash it all came back to her. Her body froze, but her minds' eyes was clear, listing the facts sternly, without pause.

_The day before he was gone, I met an old woman. She offered to stop Sasuke from leaving. And I accepted._

_Everything that's happened before – that he got hit by that _thing_ in the Chuunin exams – _

_I went back in time…_

Her eyes widened and her mouth made incoherent biting sounds. Her teeth chattered.

_No…that was – erased. I changed it…That – that – _

She tore her eyes onto the picture of herself. Her eyes were compulsively huge and scared.

_The scar – the mark – the curse mark - _

_It wasn't Sasuke who was bitten – it – _

_It was **me**!_

She recalled the pain and recoiled, cringing.

_I w-will I survive…w-where am I?_

The old woman came again in a dream. Sakura did not know though…a dream? Or was this reality? …Or a whole other dimension, universe, heaven, hell?

Sakura's image dissipated into a wrinkled, crookedly smiling – the same withered crone, the same long, angular fingers –

"W-where am I?" she cried out. The mouth that she did not could talk spoke of its own accord and Sakura could _feel_ – she felt the curiosity, the confusion, the being prone to explosion –

"W-why? Why? Why?" she burst out. Her teeth clenched so hard she thought they might crumble to dust. "Where am I? Where's Sasuke?" Her first thought naturally traveled to him – his dark eyes, mysteriously- "Where's the snake? Did it bite me?" Trembling, she brought one hand to her neck.

It burned.

"Well," came the voice, and Sakura could not figure out if it was man or woman's. It was not monotonous but full of cricks. It was crackled and a hiss. "You did it." And then the old woman laughed.

The young kunoichi drew back, horrified. "Please – t-tell me…"

"Well," repeated the crone, her eyes hid. Her mouth grew into the same large dark hole. "You did it."

"W-what?"

"You traveled back in time…you rescued him…"

"N-gh…" She had thought this was untrue, false, that she would wake up to the same world before. "Y-you're lying…that's I-impossible!"

"Really?" came the voice. "Really?"

And then there were the hisses – echoing off one another, bouncing around Sakura –

_Really? Really – really – really?_

She drew back, tears stinging her eyelids. "S-sasuke," she mumbled, terrified. Without knowing it she bit down firmly on her lip, drawing blood. "Sasuke…Sasuke…_Sasuke!"_

_Really…really…really?_

"No…!" she clasped her hands over her head, shuddering. "I – I don't want to be here!" She felt rage, antagonism, resentment – this was not possible, it could not happen. It was only an illusion –

"No! I want to g-go back!" she shouted out, her voice cracking with heaving sobs. "Don't keep me here! I w-want to g-go back!"

_Really…really…really?_

Her courage collapsed. She cradled her face in her hands, shaking her head. "Please…don't do this…it'snot true…I couldn't have…!"

"But you did," came the voice, now thick with amusement. "Now, do you wish to go back?"

_Really…really…really…?_

"Y-yes," Sakura bit out, eyes tightly squeezed shut.

The old woman seemed to reconsider. "Ah," she said at last, "so be it. But you will come back for more power…"

Sakura didn't hear her.

She was knocked into oblivion.

**X**xxxxx

Days passed. Even months. Seconds ticked by, and people returned to their activities.

Little was said aloud, but many words exchanged in soft whispers around the town.

After the Chuunin exams the air of caution in Konoha grew. There were no kids milling along the streets anymore.

Ninja trained in set hours with their sensei circumspectly guarding them.

No one dared to set foot into the Forest of Death anymore.

Not anymore…

Not anymore – not since –

The pink-haired Haruno girl had been – _bitten_ – unconscious. Not since the gates had closed.

And then the attack on Konoha had been devastating.

The death rate was frightening high, the injured even higher. The attack was one of the third stage of the Chuunin exams between the battle of a dark-haired and a red-haired shinobi. It was surprising, astonishing, shocking.

Konoha barely held its own, ninja dying for their families, loved ones.

It was a massacre. But in the end the enemies – the leader of which yellow-eyed, snake-tongued – were forced back.

And gradually, slowly, the pace grew back.

Everyone pitched in to reconstruct all of Konoha. They mourned for the loss of the Third Hokage, but welcomed the arrival of the Fifth.

Little by little, leisurely – not in any way hurried…

The news of the Haruno girl in the hospital sunk to the ashes. Most forgot about her. Most did not think about her anymore. She was just one single life in all of the world, in what appeared to be a coma.

Most likely, the people of Konoha had concluded, she was dead. She would not come back. Miracles did not occur often. Hope died for her, and new hope was found instead to rebuilding Konoha.

No…not many wondered about her.

Only her teammates, a select few…

And then on that day – that same day that had occurred, though no one knew but she – _the day before Sasuke had left_ – her breath was regained once more and she delicately passed the fine line between death and life.

And it was so her eyes opened.

* * *

**It _is_ sort of a cliffie...Sorry if it's confusing. _Is_ it confusing? With the whole time-skip idea?**

1.) By the way, many questions derived from the old woman; who is she and what is she doing; and what does she want. Can't answer this. She's a very important character but for now it's up to you to decide if she's good or evil.

2.) What to expect of this fanfiction: Lots of action (of course!). Longer chapters. Way longer. Major friendship on Team 7. And, obviously, romance :)

Also, vocabulary...I love vocabulary! (You probably noticed this by now). And dialog; fighting scenes.

3.) What not to expect: Undetailed writing. I can't _do_ undetailed writing. And don't expect unclear pairings. Most of the pairings are obvious, I suppose.

**I need reviews like food, water, and caffeine!! (Yes...caffeine. Lol). Thank you so much!**

**Edit 2-13-08: Fixed spelling errors!**


	3. Awakening

**If anyone is looking for more action, you'll have to wait. Also, I'm welcoming any ideas. Who knows...**

_**x.**Serendipity.**x**_

**_Awakening_**

* * *

A flock of bluebirds flew and danced their way to the windowsill, chirping happily. She heard their noisy loud calls, their arguments, their twitters.

Sunlight streamed through the warm cotton curtains, onto the dust-strewn drawers. The room had not been cleaned for at east several weeks.

As dusty and untidy as always, however, the room was centered about a girl with pink hair and green eyes.

Eyes that opened now, that hesitantly widened, and enlarged furthermore at this strange world. And then, imperceptively, she drew in a breath, and then another – one delicious breath, the aroma of warm sunshine, the feel of soft cotton against her hands, the brush of the wind against a passion-fevered brow.

She could_ feel._ She could _see_, touch, smell…hear the cheep-cheeps of birds and the **zree-zrees** of cicadas on this breezy spring day.

She was slow to recognize herself in the dusty mirror that stretched across the other side of the room. Her skin was as pale as ever, dark bags lining under her eyes…mussed up hair that felt limp and sticky to her neck.

Her mouth – a taste not unlike something the cat would drag in. She opened them and for the first time in a long while she spoke.

"Am I really…here?"

**X**xxxxx

"How much farther, Kakashi-sensei?" yelled the blonde ninja over the loud crash of the waterfalls and thundering rain. "I'm starving!"

"It'll be much faster if you stopped complaining," answered the Jounin, flitting over the trees.

"Jeez! That's what you always say…" It was after yet _another_ escort mission to a small village by the waterfall. Naruto was hungry – hungry wouldn't cover it. Ravenous, famished…

The third person beside them had not spoken a word. He narrowed his dark eyes, half-angrily. All these missions were a waste of time. They would not bring him enough power, fast enough.

A clearing ripped open in front of the team and they streamed through the watery skies to the village.

**X**xxxxx

_Crash_ – the unmistakable break of glass was heard by the receptionist. She hurriedly threw down the papers she was signing and grabbed the clipboard. Which patient was it now?

And then the crunch of glass on the floor. The woman ran towards the sound, heart beating. Frightened and bewildered, she was face-to-face with the door which she was sure lead to the source of the noise.

_But how?!_

Undeniably this room belonged to the Haruno girl. She couldn't have awoken; all evidence pointed her into the direction of death – yet the glass _had_ been broken, she had heard it –

The receptionist pushed open the door, taking in everything, from the shards of vase that surrounded a few cracked, withering flowers and get-well cards, as well as the dusty furniture and equipment. And then –

" – You!"

It was the girl. She was clearly sitting straight up on the bed with a frightened expression, her green eyes large. She was breathing – at least, appeared to be doing so – and moving.

"Y-you're…"

The woman ran out the hallway, leaving the clipboard skittering off onto the ground.

"Tsunade-sama! Tsunade!" Loud banging could be heard on the Hokage's office. A previously irritated woman with twin ponytails realized this was important.

"Come in," she commanded, folding her hands. Her amber eyes widened at the sight of the receptionist. Usually she was calm and assertive, but now…

"Tsunade-sama!"

"Don't just scream like that. Tell me!"

"The – the Haruno girl – " Leaning against the frame of the door, the frazzled woman breathed heavily. "She's alive!"

Calmly the Hokage stood up, though her mouth went dry. "Take me to her."

The dead weight of the covers, the air, heavy with oxygen – it all came to her. Sakura knew that somehow, she was alive, once again. And she also knew that it had not been a dream.

One mere look in the mirror told her so.

A black, elegant shape the size of a small fingernail curled at the crook where neck and shoulders met. It was shaped not unlike Sasuke's…_No, _she told herself, almost dream-like;_ Sasuke has never been bitten_. _I was bitten for him_.

As this thought came to her she suppressed a wild urge to laugh. It hurt, it stung…

Quiet footsteps rapidly became rushed ones. "In there," she heard someone gasp. The door banged open for the second time that day and someone Sakura had never seen before swept in.

She had sharp, perceiving amber eyes that made anyone in her way shrink back in fear. Though obviously mature, the woman had her hair wrapped childishly – in two similar pigtails that now spun wildly about her young face.

She was tall and intimidating – made even more so with her elongated high heels. Her mouth opened when she saw Sakura.

"You're awake…" In one lightning movement, she crossed the remaining space between them. Her eyes took in the curse mark – she had seen it before, but never had she thought that…this girl…this girl…would survive.

"Strange," she said quietly. "So very, very strange."

Sakura winced.

"Get dressed. Can you understand me?"

Sakura nodded, her throat feeling tight.

"If you wish, get some rest. We will come back. Can you stand by yourself?"

Sakura nodded her head, just wanting to be left alone.

Her wish was answered. The two women slipped out, discussing this miracle in the muffled hallway.

Sakura leaned back, for some reason wanting desperately to cry. Nothing would ever be the same…

_If only they knew_, she thought. _If only they knew what I had done…_

**X**xxxxx

As soon as he arrived, Naruto shot to the ramen shop in oblivious excitement, stomach growling all the way. Sasuke, however, took the closest route to his home, shoving off his rain gear. His eye caught hold off the picture.

_Their_ picture. Team 7.

Painfully he remembered how Sakura had collapsed. His fingers tightened, leaving a small trail on the dusty glass. She was so happy here, so _unknowing of _what could happen. What actually happened.

The snake...he had seen it, heard the quick snaps of the jaw, the slash of tongue, the ravenous eyes. It had been so close, too close.

She had pushed him away.

_So what does this mean_? he wondered for the umpteenth time, angrier still. She was always so careless, capricious, even. She had gotten herself stuck in these situations and now...

**X**xxxxx

Tsunade closed the door slowly behind her. The girl was alive. This proved her strength, her raw will. She could not have been the target...he would come back. This she was sure of. If anything, Orochimaru was cunning and had multiple tricks up his sleeve. He had killed countless people for simple experiments. He would risk this. It would have to be considered.

She brushed her hair back tiredly from her face and turned arond to open the door once again.

Soft clicks of her shoes could be heard as she walked down the hallway.

The girl's door was ajar when she arrived. It creaked.

Sakura was sitting on the bed in the same position. For one moment the Hokage believed she was really dead; her face was a mask, unmoving - but the girl's hands were shaking.

"We'll need to perform a few tests on you."

Sakura glanced up in a start. "Y-yes." Her lips were dry and chapped.

"I have decided to keep the news secretive so far. Only the other nurse knows. As for your situation..." She hesitated. "Please...do not tell anybody about this."

"Hai."

The girl stood up on her legs, shaking.

* * *

**End of Chapter Three.**


	4. Reunion at Ichiraku's

**Forgive me, please. I'm very sorry for the lack of updates, but my excuse isn't "homework" or whatever. The truth is, I had total, complete, omnipotent - _writer's block._ My arch nemesis.**

**Now I've got my muse back, and I managed another chapter - I added a slightly changed tone of voice. I think it's the best chapter I've ever writter in this fanfic so far.**

**I'm sorry.**

**And thank you for reviews, I hope you continue to give me motivation; God knows I need some!**

* * *

_**x.**Serendipity.**x**_

**_Reunion at Ichiraku's_**

* * *

Ten minutes later Tsunade studied the results on her clipboard. Her pulse was miraculously fast for someone who had just woken from a coma.

The Hokage glanced at her, as if frightened she should pass out again. "Don't tell anyone about this," she uttered in a low voice, mystery clouding her expression. "except for those whom you truly, truly trust. If word leaks out, there could be chaos."

Shakily Sakura nodded, forcing a quick jerk of the head for understanding. "I know."

"Good." The Hokage straightened up, pressed her lips together, and strode out.

The girl was left sitting on the bed with only the birds for her company.

**X**xxxxx

In the busy, dusty streets of Konoha there was a certain ramen shop with a loud, obnoxious voice ranting on.

"And so Kakashi was all mad because we took too long at the inn - the fee was seven dollars per person and that costs so much! I mean, ramen is only two dollars a bowl - so I complained and Sasuke gave me the death glare, because obviously, there's not a bone in his body that's not glare-ful, and Kakashi just - "

"N-naruto - "

" - yelled something obscene because he was busy reading his book, and the manager of the inn kept screeching something in another dialect which was hard to understand because - "

"Naruto - "

" - his accent was all ,"Ooo, you guys did not pay for dis! You must pay for dis! - " and so the whole thing was stupid 'cause he kept clapping randomly - "

"N-naruto!"

"Huh?" He swallowed his ramen with difficulty and turned to his companion. "What, Hinata?"

She motioned to the right, her eyes large. The owner of the ramen shop, Ichiraku, was giving the blond-haired ninja a similar death glare as said. Sedately he pointed to Naruto's green, adorable, froggy, _completely empty _wallet.

"Oh."

,.-;-'-;-.,.,.-;-'-;-.,.,.-;-

A few minutes, a sad, dejected Naruto walked with his hands in his pockets, Hinata in tow, two of her quick steps matching every one of his.

"It's not fair, you know?" he started to complain. "I go for ramen and I'm supposed to enjoy today - no missions or any other horrible things to get in the way of ramen, but nooo, now that I - "

"Naruto - "

" - eat just a few bowls, and I didn't know I used up all my money - how could I know? - and I was eating ramen, too - "

"_N-naruto."_

The pale-eyed girl was trembling. He stopped dead in his tracks, concerned. "Hinata, what's - "

His gaze followed hers and his chin dropped several inches.

_"S-Sakura-chan!"_

Four eyes widened simultaneously, two pale, two cerulean blue. "S-sakura...y-you..."

Before them stood the very same - very same, yet somehow _different_ - Sakura Haruno they had known - who they had assumed was gone forever - Ino had even dug a grave and dropped off fresh flowers every day -

Tears -

Crying, sobbing -

Hopelessess - despair - no more, no more -

And yet, in spite of everything Naruto had believed what was, here _she_ stood, here _she was_, in the flesh, real live person, _pink hair_ and all.

She wore her traditional small red dress, but also black pants. Her frame was on the border of emaciated, and there were deep hollows under her eyes. She expressed fatigue in the way her arms drooped to her sides, her stride slow.

But there was a bright and cheerful smile on her face, like the Sakura _they_ knew, just like her.

She stood, and then stumbled, as her teammate crushed her in a hug.

"I - I'm back."

,.-;-'-;-.,.,.-;-'-;-.,.,.-;-

- Ichiraku was the first shop in sight, a first place to chat, so the trio hurriedly entered. The owner raised his slight eyebrows in confusion. After his biting diatribe to Naruto, he hadn't expected...

"No, we're not buying ramen," came the assuring words from Naruto, something the boy hadn't anticipated to speak for his entire life.

He turned to his pink haired friend, uncontrollably grinning.

"So...Sakura! You're back!"

She smiled. "I am!"

"All well?! Are you okay? Internal bleeding? Cuts, scrapes - headaches, migraines - the last time I saw you, Sakura, you were - ah, are you really? - "

She dipped her head. "Hai."

Inwardly she debated whether to tell him or not. She decided on her more practical self. _I'm not telling anyone unless they press me. I'm not telling _anyone_ unless they are close. I will follow the Hokage's words._

"S-sakura, I'm glad...you're back."

_If only they knew..._

"I am too, Hinata. I am too."

,.-;-'-;-.,.,.-;-'-;-.,.,.-;-

Sasuke was trailing the streets for a quick lunch when he heard a voice.

"I'm okay. I think the reason I went into a coma was because of dehydration. During the Chuunin exams, I don't think I stopped enough for much food or water."

The words were earnest and quiet, but they made Sasuke's breath freeze.

_It can't be._

He lifted the shop's strips of cloth and met an unexpected sight. Sakura sat next to Naruto on a stool, chatting amiably. Her hair was tied back in a brisk ponytail - something he had never seen - and though her cheeks were plainly hollow from the weeks she had been unconscious, her eyes were shining.

Hinata was the most soft-spoken out of the three, and the most observant. It was she who was the first to notice the Uchiha, quietly standing there, with a now-composed face.

"I can't believe it! - Team Seven once again! Yeah - Kakashi will get a surprise outta this! And Sasuke too, though he was angry at me! Did I tell you about the time - just yesterday - at the inn - he made such a huge fuss over some money issues - actually I was the one who made a fuss, but - "

"Wait - what about Kakashi's mask?" she asked laughingly, glad to be in her friend's company once more.

"Tch, no such luck; on that mission in the inn we went to the public baths, and he - _guess what_ he has under his mask?!"

"Hm? what?"

" - ANOTHER mask! Isn't that just _so_ stupid? Now it's almost impossible to find out what..."

His voice trailed off uncertainly as he finally spotted Sasuke.

"Oi, Sasuke! Did you notice - "

"I noticed - "

" - that Sakura-chan's back?!"

" - she's back."

Sakura did not want to turn around. The silence that had begun was now deafening - she took a quick breath - and turned.

Disappointment surged through her veins.

_What had I expected, anyhow?_

His eyes were usually guarded, his mouth unsmiling.

_What had I expected?_

"Hi, Sakura."

Nothing else. Not a single word more.

She nodded mutely, trying to smile, trying to make sense of it all - with a burst of intuition - _he doesn't know he doesn't know._

"Hi, Sasuke." Her eyes were cast down to the clean concrete; she traced its pattern with a weathered sandal.

Silence.

He gave a nod that she failed to see, and turned around. It was as if he had never been there in the first place, save for the ominous silence. Then Naruto, oblivious to Sakura's discomfort, started chattering away again.

She could hardly refrain from crying right there.

_What had I expected? That he had changed? No. He doesn't know. He doesn't know. _

_He is the same Sasuke I knew then. _

Then,

_The same Sasuke who was ignored me all these years._

She wiped away her tears, saying it was something in her eye.

_He hasn't changed._

_Not one bit._

* * *

**End of chapter four - Review please!**


	5. AN

Hi everyone.

I might as just say it.

I'll be on hiatus, frozen, petrified. I know all of you hate me for saying that. I've just come to a realization. I don't think most of you would understand, though. If you want to know, PM me. But it's not like it really matters.

Well, hiatus it is, save for three exceptions:

Serendipity: I won't be continuing it. Either the story will be up for grabs, meaning any of your aspiring authors can continue it, or I'll just delete it. It's collected too much dust, and I can't think of anything more to write for that story.

-The Journal _will_ be going to normal schedule. No hiatus. I'll probably update soon, I hope.

-Third: Also, My StepBrother Sasuke will be normal, too. Sorry for not posting the second chapter yet. I will.

Notice done, I hope I'll continue in around a week or two, okay? Don't worry; I will continue. But also, there's a chance I won't continue Spring in My Heart.

Don't bombard me with flames.

H.H.

PS. Hallie, Meels, I love you. Give me condolence, pleeeaz. I feel like my life is over.


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